The NFL announced yesterday that Patriots rookie running back Brandon Bolden has been suspended without pay for four games for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Bolden’s suspension begins immediately. He will be eligible to return to the Patriots’ active roster on Dec. 3, the day after they play the Miami Dolphins.

Bolden has missed the last two games because of a knee injury and did not practice this week.

In six games this year, Bolden, an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi, has carried 43 times for 234 yards and two touchdowns.

Earlier this year in Buffalo, Bolden rushed for 137 yards and Stevan Ridley for 106, marking the first time the Patriots had a pair of 100-yard rushers in a game since 1980. They each scored a fourth-quarter touchdown (Ridley also scored in the first quarter) and helped the Patriots to a franchise-record 45 second-half points.

In addition to Bolden, Trevor Scott and Tracy White have been ruled out for tomorrow.

To Bill Belichick, “it seems like a month” since the Patriots last played. “Everybody is excited to get back out there and get going,” the coach said yesterday.

In truth, it has been only two weeks since the Patriots last took the field and handed the St. Louis Rams a 45-7 beating in London, and the midseason bye seemed to come at a good time for New England.

“It was the perfect time,” defensive end Rob Ninkovich said yesterday after the Patriots wrapped up their fourth practice of the week in preparation for tomorrow’s game against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium. “We were able to rest up some guys that are banged up and have them back out there at 100 percent. (The rest) definitely helps your body to get back to not having that soreness from nagging injuries.”

Ninkovich got his season on track when the Patriots played the Bills in Buffalo in September. Adjusting to the switch from linebacker to defensive end, Ninkovich started slowly, failing to record a tackle in the opener against the Titans and registering just one two weeks later at Baltimore.

Against the Bills, Ninkovich had five tackles and a sack and forced a fumble, and he has been filling up the stat sheet similarly ever since.

“I think I was getting comfortable with my position and these are my responsibilities and doing them the best I can and doing my job,” Ninkovich said. “Just looking over the tapes and seeing the things that maybe I wasn’t as aggressive or just taking that shot on a certain play. I looked at the first three games and corrected some things.”

In the last five games, Ninkovich has 26 tackles, 4.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

“I was just able to put my hand down and just go get the ball carrier,” Ninkovich said. “Wherever the ball is, my job is to get there — just have that never-stop, high-motor mentality.”

Preventing the Bills from jumping to a big lead like they did in September? Doing a better job on third down, Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork said, would be a good start.

Buffalo converted five of its first nine third-down opportunities to go up, 21-7, early in the third quarter in the teams’ first meeting of the season.

“Our goal is to not let them get a 17- or 21-point lead,” Wilfork said. “We have to be better. Being able to get off the field on third down will be key for us going forward. If we can get off the field on third down, I think you’ll see a brand new defense. Until then, we’re always going to have little problems here and there, but it starts with third down. If we can do that, we’ll be OK.”

The Patriots’ third-down defense ranks 27th in the league, allowing opponents to convert 42.6 percent of their third-down tries. The Ravens, Bills and Jets were all 50 percent or better in third-down efficiency against the Pats. St. Louis was just 3 for 10 on third down.

“We’re working on the things we need to improve on,” Ninkovich said, “just going over the tape from this whole season and seeing the things we haven’t done well and just trying to improve on those things in the future.”

Last season, the Patriots ranked 28th in third-down defense (43.5 percent). The Bills, by the way, rank last in the league (46.1 percent).

Halfway through the season, the Patriots — despite some defensive deficiencies — and the Houston Texans, to no one’s surprise, are among the best in the AFC.

The Bills have played, and lost to, both teams. And Buffalo wide receiver Stevie Johnson ranks New England ahead of the Texans.

“I’m just going to have to say the Patriots because the first quarter (against the Texans), I was feeling pretty good about it from my perspective,” Johnson said. “I was feeling pretty good about it and then I ended up getting the thigh injury and I really could not do too much.

“I played the game against the Patriots with pretty much no injury and they still put a whooping on us. So I’m going to give the nod to the New England Patriots.”

The Patriots and Texans can settle it Dec. 10 when Houston comes to Gillette Stadium.

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